Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for May 2024

Stay a While

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The chimp house can be a bit chaotic in the morning into the early afternoon, but in a good way, of course. The building is humming with energy in preparation of the day, as the humans prepare meals, enrichment, food puzzles, work on laundry, clean the building, and do more laundry. Meanwhile, the chimps are either laughing and playing or displaying and causing a ruckus. Most days are a combination of all these activities. However, by the afternoon, the chimp house seems to be calmer, at least for the humans. After lunch, is often when you will see the chimps in the position I like to call, come over and stay a while. This is when the caregivers can sit and spend some time with their friends. The chimps often sit in a comfortable position and when they see you, they may get up and invite you to groom or sit with them for a while. Sometimes though, as we walk by to grab laundry or clean toys, we just admire how cozy and laid back they look.

Willy B grooming himself, foot up on the mesh to show he is very relaxed:

Obviously, Willy B have to try to look at his teeth through the camera:

Honey B can somehow look relaxed in a nest while simultaneous looking up to no good 🙂

And Rayne, the laid back queen herself:

Bonus photo of Annie! We put out a lunch forage today with some whole oranges and a few whole veggies. Annie went all the way to the top before everyone and scored big time!

 

 

Effortless Rayne

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Lately we’ve been doing lots of lunch forages for Cy’s big group.  We often spread the food out between a playroom, greenhouse, the front rooms and the Bray so everyone can access it fairly. Rayne seems to reliably skip the more competitive hustle and bustle of the indoor areas and head out onto the Bray for her lunch. This afternoon she did just that, going out to the Bray, grabbing a head of radicchio and enjoying her simple lunch while she took in the views of the river valley below.

One final note before I go! Today is the LAST day of Give Big 2024. We are just over half way to our goal of raising $50,000 towards the direct care of the chimpanzees we all love so much. Thank you to all who have already contributed and be sure to donate before the fundraiser ends tonight!

All Shapes and Sizes

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First thing is first! If you have been following the news, you may have heard about a zebra that has been on the loose near the cascades for about a week. It has sparked a meme trend across social media of a zebra found in different places and scenarios. This lead to a discussion of where the zebra could be found. In this definitely not doctored photo, I believe we have had a glimpse of the elusive zebra!

(Note: This is in fact a doctored photo)

If you wanted to know the real update about the zebra, it was finally located and captured last Friday.

Enrichment comes in many shapes and forms. From food puzzles to toys to caregivers and to interacting with other chimpanzees, enrichment is a crucial part in caring for chimpanzees. While monitoring physical health, cleaning enclosures, and preparing meals is a big part of it, enrichment holds and equally important piece to the puzzle of caregiving. Enrichment helps to keep their minds stimulated and engaged. In a very loose way to look at it, it’s sort of like the mental health aspect of caring. In the video, those are just some of the was the chimpanzees are enriched.

We also wanted to let you all know today is the first official day of Give Big! This two day campaign is a way for non-profits to encourage donations to come in. We are currently at approximately $20,000 of our $50,000 goal. These donations are a crucial part in being able to care for all the residents at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. It is what allows caregivers to provide top notch medical care, health and fresh meals, new toys, and fun parties. Every little bit helps. Even the tiniest donation. We are not able to do any of this without all the years of support and donations. Thank you so much for choosing to follow us, falling in love with the chimpanzees and cattle, putting smiles on caregivers faces, and making all of this possible! I hope to see some of your names on the donor list! There is currently a matching donation going on, where every dollar becomes two dollars!

Here are some bonus photos from today!

Rayne

with a yellow brush!

Cy

I imagine this is Cy’s happy place. Surrounded by magazines and boomer balls!
He found a whole celery stalk place on The Bray during today’s lunch forage!

Willy B

I make the same face too when I see food.
Eyeing everyone to see what they got.

Burrito and Jamie

Fishing for raisins in their Greenhouse.

Honey B

Enjoying her time foraging in the Oakwood Greenhouse.

Terry

Enjoying the goods he collected during the forage.

A Day on the Bray: Lucky Climbs a Tower!

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Mave has been showing off her newfound confidence on the Bray, though at this point she prefers to stay somewhat close to home. Lucky, on the other hand, has been pushing herself to explore the very top of the enclosure. The other day she climbed one of the towers under construction at the top of the Bray for the first time (I think!) and took a moment to enjoy the view with her brother Cy and pal Gordo.

Rayne with one of her favorite books:

Cy, as I found him while closing up the chimp house one evening:

Here’s a photo of the sanctuary taken several weeks back from the driveway on the southern edge of our property which the Bonneville Power Administration built to access their transmission towers for us to walk our dogs along. In the background you can see one of the many cuts along Old Highway 10 where university students and geology buffs go to examine the various strata of ancient riverbeds, as well as the infamous Taylor Bridge, forever linked to the 2012 wildfire which bears its name.

And one from yesterday, after a wind gust blew a plastic bag up this impossibly steep hill while Jake and I were working on cattle fencing. I figured I’d stop a take a photo to hide how tired I was from the climb and buy myself a little time before trying to make my way back down. I was reminded of one of those quirky British competitions where people chase after a wheel of cheese down a steep slope (I’m not kidding) except at the bottom of this hill is simply an old barbed wire fence. This view of the slope might give you a sense of why we couldn’t extend the chimp enclosures any further to the east than we did – bear in mind, the chimp enclosure is itself a pretty steep hill. I really thought about it, though.

 

Good Morning!

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Mornings in the chimp house are busy- there’s breakfast to make, smoothies to blend, lists to check, and chimps to greet. Some days, there’s only time to give the chimps a quick hello while you do other tasks (like safety checks to give them access to the outdoor enclosures). Other days, things take on a slower pace and you find yourself spending quality time with the chimps before breakfast. Today was one of those mornings.

As I was opening up both sides of the chimp house today, I noticed something- Jamie’s side, with Burrito immediately getting me into a game of chase and tug-of-war, felt like greeting a morning person with all the energy to do all the things right away! Cy’s side was like greeting people who need more quiet time in the morning- with lots of grooming and watching of the humans getting their tasks done. It’s not always this way- sometimes Burrito is off doing his own thing and sometimes Cy immediately snags you to play a game of chase, but this morning I felt two very different morning-vibes from each group of chimps. Personally, I categorize myself as a 10am to 2pm kind of person. This morning, though, it was really nice to spend time with morning-chimps and also some not-so-morning chimps. 🙂

P.S: There’s only one more day left of Early Giving for GiveBIG!! The event culminates in a 48-hour giving period on May 7th and May 8th, but you can help us get closer to our fundraising goal by donating early. Help us make BIG things happen here at CSNW! Click here to support us today.

Bonus Photos

Handsome Cy resting this afternoon

Sweet Gordo enjoying his groups’ lunch forage in the Greenhouse today

Boss lady Jamie, enjoying a lilac this morning

A Little Peace of Spring

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Today has been quite the perfect spring day at the sanctuary. The day started with Negra at the front of the line for the door to Young’s Hill, ready to lead her group to forage for grass on the hill, so I had a feeling today was going to be a great day. Annie and Burrito stayed outside foraging for those tasty spring grasses right up until breakfast was served, as did Gordo, and the sanctuary was quiet save for the sounds of staff preparing for the day.

We have all enjoyed a steady breeze and plenty of sunshine, and had forages for both groups during lunch. There has been plenty of play – among the chimps and between chimps and humans – with chimp laughter and the sounds of stomping feet during games of chase filling the chimp house. Today has been a perfect example of some of the things that bring me compassion satisfaction: the quiet moments of contentment among the chimps, hearing breathy chimpanzee laughter as they play with each other, getting to see them enjoy new enrichment items, and being invited to play with them. I also found myself feeling extremely grateful for this place that the chimpanzees and cattle get to call home as I watched the grass sway, listened to the aspen leaves shake against each other in the wind, and appreciated the beauty of the river and mountains in the distance. I hope the video and pictures from the day can convey a little bit of the peace we all felt today, and bring you happiness wherever you are as well.

Burrito and Annie foraging for grass

Burrito and Annie foraging for grass

Burrito with a handful of freshly picked grass